Free Practice Questions for WGU Ethics-In-Technology Exam

A hazard log is a structured record of potential dangers, risks, and safety concerns identified throughout the development of a system—particularly in high-risk industries like autonomous vehicles. The system safety engineer is tracking issues that could lead to accidents, fatalities, or legal consequences, which aligns with hazard logging.

Unlike risk logs (which document broader business risks) or defect logs (which track software bugs), a hazard log focuses specifically on safety risks.

ISO 26262 (Automotive Safety Standard) – Requires systematic hazard logging in autonomous vehicle development.

Utilitarian Ethics & Public Safety – Tracking hazards minimizes harm to the public and ensures ethical AI deployment.

Product Liability & Ethics (Tort Law) – Ethical and legal responsibility requires addressing known safety concerns.

ACM & IEEE Safety Standards – Developers must document hazards and mitigate risks in AI-driven systems.

Relevant Ethical References in Technology:Thus, the correct answer is C. Hazard, as the engineer is recording and assessing safety risks in autonomous vehicles.

Industrial espionage refers to the unauthorized theft or copying of trade secrets, proprietary information, or intellectual property from one company to another, often for competitive advantage.

Why is this Industrial Espionage?

The sibling stole proprietary source code from Employee A’s unattended laptop.

This act provides unfair competitive advantage to the sibling’s company.

Unauthorized access to trade secrets is illegal under the Economic Espionage Act (1996).

A. Nepotism – Favoring family members in hiring or promotions, but this case involves theft of intellectual property.

B. Conflict of Interest – Would apply if Employee A voluntarily shared information, but here, it was stolen.

D. Corruption – Involves bribery or unethical business practices, but this is corporate theft.

Why Not the Other Options?Thus, the correct answer is C. Industrial Espionage, as it involves theft of confidential trade secrets.

Economic Espionage Act (1996), 18 U.S.C. §§ 1831-1839.

OECD Guidelines on Corporate Ethics and Intellectual Property Protection.

References in Ethics in Technology:

MYSTIC is a secret NSA surveillance program used to intercept and record telephone conversations in multiple non-U.S. countries. The program was revealed in 2014 by Edward Snowden and reportedly enabled full audio recording of phone calls in certain nations.

MYSTIC’s ethical concerns stem from mass surveillance, privacy violations, and the lack of transparency in government data collection.

Mass Surveillance Ethics (Snowden Leaks, 2013–2014) – Revealed NSA’s large-scale digital surveillance programs, including PRISM and MYSTIC.

Privacy & Government Surveillance (Fourth Amendment & FISA) – Raises concerns about warrantless surveillance of foreign citizens.

Utilitarian vs. Deontological Ethics – Justifications for national security must balance against individual privacy rights.

International Human Rights (UN Privacy Guidelines) – Warrantless global surveillance challenges privacy rights under international law.

Relevant Ethical References in Technology:Thus, the correct answer is C. MYSTIC, as it was used by the NSA to intercept and record telephone conversations in non-U.S. countries.

A skewed sample occurs when historical data is biased, unrepresentative, or imbalanced, leading to discriminatory AI outcomes. In this case, the AI system was trained on 20 years of national data, which likely contained historical biases against minorities in drug and alcohol disorder treatments.

Since past law enforcement and healthcare policies have disproportionately impacted minority groups, the AI inherited these biases and began making unfair, discriminatory predictions.

Algorithmic Bias & AI Ethics (ACM/IEEE Guidelines) – AI models must be trained on diverse and representative data.

Fairness in Machine Learning (FAT/ML Framework) – Preventing bias in AI requires identifying and correcting skewed data.

Historical Bias & Systemic Discrimination – Training AI on biased past records leads to unethical and discriminatory outcomes.

Deontological Ethics (Fair AI Decision-Making) – AI developers must ensure unbiased, ethical, and fair AI outputs.

Relevant Ethical References in Technology:Thus, the correct answer is B. Skewed sample, as the AI model was trained on biased historical data, leading to discrimination.

The consultant was hired by the organization to test its cybersecurity and identify vulnerabilities. This is the role of a white hat hacker, also known as an ethical hacker.

Why White Hat Hacker?

White hat hackers conduct security assessments legally and ethically to help organizations strengthen their cyber defenses.

The consultant demonstrated SQL injection attacks in a controlled manner to expose weaknesses without malicious intent.

Ethical hacking is a recognized practice under cybersecurity frameworks like NIST and ISO 27001.

A. Cybercriminal – Engages in illegal hacking for personal or financial gain, whereas the consultant was hired to help the organization.

C. Cyberterrorist – Motivated by political or ideological goals, not cybersecurity testing.

D. Black Hat Hacker – Malicious hackers who exploit vulnerabilities for personal benefit, unlike ethical hackers.

Why Not the Other Options?Thus, the correct answer is B. White Hat Hacker, as the consultant was conducting authorized penetration testing.

CEH (Certified Ethical Hacker) Guidelines.

National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Cybersecurity Framework.

OWASP Top Ten Security Risks (2023).

References in Ethics in Technology:

Confidentiality ensures that only authorized personnel have access to sensitive information.

Why Confidentiality Was Violated?

Payroll information is sensitive and should be accessible only to authorized employees.

The erroneous access granted to new hires means private financial information is at risk.

Confidentiality is a fundamental principle in cybersecurity, ensuring that data is accessed only by those who need it.

A. Availability – Ensures systems remain operational, but this case concerns unauthorized access, not system downtime.

B. Accessibility – Relates to making data usable for authorized individuals, but this case involves an unauthorized access issue.

C. Integrity – Ensures data remains accurate and unaltered, but the issue here is privacy, not data accuracy.

Why Not the Other Options?Thus, the correct answer is D. Confidentiality, as it ensures that only authorized users can access sensitive information.

National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Cybersecurity Framework.

ISO/IEC 27001: Information Security Management Systems.

References in Ethics in Technology:

The unintended source of bias in AI algorithms comes from human developers, who bring their own unconscious biases into data selection, feature engineering, and model training.

Even when AI is designed to be neutral, developers may:

Select biased training data

Define biased decision-making rules

Fail to recognize discriminatory outcomes

Algorithmic Bias & Human Influence – AI reflects the biases of those who design it, making human oversight crucial.

ACM & IEEE AI Ethics Guidelines – Encourage bias audits and ethical AI development.

Historical Bias & Discrimination in AI (Amazon Hiring AI Case) – AI replicated gender biases because of biased developer input.

Deontological Ethics & AI Responsibility – Developers must take responsibility for preventing bias in AI systems.

Relevant Ethical References in Technology:Thus, the correct answer is C. Human developers, as they introduce unintentional bias into AI systems through their decisions.

The decision made by the insurance company aligns with utilitarianism, an ethical theory that evaluates actions based on their overall consequences and aims to maximize happiness or well-being for the greatest number of people.

Why Utilitarianism?

The company continues using the AI system because it benefits the majority of customers, even though it negatively affects a marginalized group.

Utilitarianism, as defined by Jeremy Bentham and later refined by John Stuart Mill, prioritizes actions that generate the most favorable outcomes for the largest number of individuals.

Since the AI system increases efficiency and improves claim processing for most customers, the company may justify its use under "the greatest happiness principle."

However, utilitarianism can be criticized for neglecting minority groups if their suffering is outweighed by the benefits to the majority, as seen in this case.

A. Pluralism: Pluralism acknowledges multiple moral values but does not necessarily justify sacrificing fairness for efficiency. The company’s decision does not reflect a commitment to balancing competing moral principles.

C. Virtue Ethics: Virtue ethics, based on Aristotle’s philosophy, emphasizes moral character and virtues such as justice and fairness. A company operating under virtue ethics would likely strive to ensure fairness for all customers rather than prioritizing overall utility.

D. Deontology: Deontology, rooted in Immanuel Kant's philosophy, focuses on duty, rights, and moral rules. A deontologist would argue that it is unethical to use a system that discriminates against certain groups, even if it benefits the majority.

Why Not the Other Theories?Thus, the correct ethical framework that justifies the company's decision is utilitarianism because it prioritizes the greater good, even at the expense of fairness for a smaller group.

Mill, J. S. (1863). Utilitarianism. London: Parker, Son, and Bourn.

Bentham, J. (1789). An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation. Oxford: Clarendon Press.

Floridi, L. (2013). The Ethics of Information. Oxford University Press.

Binns, R. (2018). "Fairness in Machine Learning: Lessons from Political Philosophy." Proceedings of the 2018 Conference on Fairness, Accountability, and Transparency (FAT).

References in Ethics in Technology:

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) protects the privacy of patient health records and restricts unauthorized access to Protected Health Information (PHI).

Why HIPAA applies to this case:

The nurse accessed the patient’s medical records without authorization, violating the HIPAA Privacy Rule.

HIPAA mandates that only authorized healthcare professionals involved in patient care can access medical records.

Unauthorized access is considered a HIPAA violation, which can result in penalties and disciplinary action.

A. Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) – Protects electronic communications from government surveillance but does not apply to medical records.

C. Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA) – Regulates financial data privacy, not medical information.

D. Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) – Protects children’s data on websites and apps but does not cover hospital records.

Why Not the Other Options?Thus, the correct answer is B. Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) as it enforces strict privacy rules for patient medical records.

Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) (1996), 45 CFR Parts 160 and 164.

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) HIPAA Guidelines.

Solove, D. J. (2019). Understanding Privacy.

References in Ethics in Technology: